Drilling, exploration of seismically defined oil in Keana, Nassarawa state to commence in March – NNPC
Oredola Adeola
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited(NNPCL) has announced the official drilling and exploration of the first oil well in Nasarawa State will commence in March 2023.
Mallam Mele Kyari, Group CEO NNPCL, made this known while receiving in the audience of a delegation of prominent Nasarawa State indigenes, led by the State Governor, Engr. Abdullahi Sule at the Corporation’s headquarters in Abuja, on Friday.
According to him, the official spud-in of the first oil well in Nasarawa State scheduled to commence in March 2023, is in continuation of hydrocarbon exploration activities in Nigeria’s inland basins.
Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration after signing the Deep Offshore and Inland Basin Production Sharing Contracts act, flagged off the Kolmani River-II well in the Gongola basin of the Benue trough, with the plan to re-launch the exploration activities in the Chad Basin, as well as the completion of the seismic data collection in the Bida, Sokoto and other basins.
EnergyDay’s check showed that oil exploration activities in Keana Local Government Area in Nasarawa State and other parts of Benue Inland Basin were temporarily suspended about two years ago due to the killing of one of the NNPC personnel by suspected herdsmen in the wake of the recent attacks of farmers by herdsmen at the Benue/Nasarawa border.
Kyari while addressing the delegates from Nasarawa state disclosed the continuation of the exploration activities was in continuation of hydrocarbon exploration activities in Nigeria’s inland basins.
He said, “Available data has confirmed the presence of hydrocarbons in Nasarawa State, with the company ready to commence drilling the first oil well in Keana by March 2023.”
The NNPCL GCEO explained that, once the Keana well proves successful, it has the capacity to transform the potential of the state tremendously.
EnergyDay gathered that several seismic acquisitions have been carried out on the site ascertaining the availability of hydrocarbon deposits on the site.
Until the suspension of the 2D & 3D seismic activities due to the activities of insurgents, technology has been deployed on the site to know the kind of oil, its commercial quantity and its exact location.
